~ Finding Happiness Through Fitness, Food, and Fun

Monthly Archives: April 2011

I have not been too affected by the Royal Wedding hype. I get that it is exciting because it is luxurious and glamorous though. The one thing I have become enamored with are Kate Middleton’s hats.

I absolutely love them, and I really want to start accessorizing with hats. I am big on scarves. I have an entire drawer full. Bryan dies every time I come home with a new one. But hats might be my new thing. Unfortunately, they take up more space. And I am not sure if I can pull of hats, but I’m going to give it a good try!

I’ve been dying to make some really pretty and vibrant colored food. So in honor of the Royal Wedding, I went regal with dessert last night.

Regal Blueberry Banana Soft Serve

1 frozen banana

a little unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 large handful of blueberries

Blend away in the food processor until smooth and place in freezer for about 30 min

Topped with sliced almonds

tiny sprinkle of Hemp Plus granola

The dark blue/purple was so pretty! Prior to this I had a microwave baked sweet potato for dinner.

Greek Yogurt Sweet Potato

I’ve been getting really lazy with my meals lately. It was delicious though. After microwaving for 6 min, I topped it with TJ’s fat free plain greek yogurt, cinnamon, sprinkle of walnuts, and just a smidge of peanut butter.

I’m finally back to working out today, and I thought I would address a question I received at home. I was asked for some advice on low maintenance leg body strength training exercises. My mom is a nurse and has developed bad knees due to lifting heavy patients. Strengthening the muscles in your legs and around your knees will help strengthen the bones and prevent injury. This is important for runner too. Also, by low maintenance, I mean limited equipment and basic moves. So, I rolled out of bed and went down to the basement gym to tackle this. You do not need a gym though for this routine.

Do Anywhere Leg Strengthening Workout*:

Bench Step up: 15 reps ea side; 3 sets – if at home you can use a high stair, sturdy chair, aerobic step, sturdy box – anything that is at least 12 in off the floor. Main muscle worked: Quads – this will help strength knees

Barbell or prisoner squat: 15-20 reps; 3 sets – do prisoner, by placing palms on back of your head, if at home or not ready to add weight. Feet shoulder width apart; butt back and lower until knees bent 90 degrees. Works both core and legs.

Unilateral Stiff Leg Deadlift: 12 reps; 2 sets – this is a more advanced movement requiring a lot of balance, I still shake, and you should use dumbbells or a barbell. Utilizes hamstrings/glutes.

Sumo Squat – 12-15 reps; 3 sets – works in the inner thigh more than a regular squat. You can add a dumbbell or kettle ball, by holding it in between your legs with both hands

Side lying Single leg lift: 20 ea side; 2 sets (def. do 3 sets, I did 2 for time) – these bring back visions of tube socks and buns of steel videos and ladies kicking their legs all the up to almost their head. I actually did this when my trainer told me to do this exercise last year. Imagine my embarrassment when he asked me what I was doing. So to this correctly: flex the foot of the leg you are lifting so toes are up and heel is down and your hamstrings are lengthened and you only have to lift your leg to just above hip width. After doing a few reps you will start to feel the burn in your legs if you are doing it correctly.

Glute Kickbacks: 12-15 reps each side; 3 sets – kneel on all fours and kick your right leg back, keeping your knee bent, until your hamstring is in line with your back. Works your glutes, as the name states.

Calf Raises: 25 reps; 2 sets – Stand on any elevated surface with your feet half on;off the platform. Stretch up on to tiptoes, and back down until heels are slightly lower than the rest of your foot. I stood on the bench and added dumbbells to each hand.

This took about 30 minutes to go through. A solid strength training session. Other exercises to sub in are: Hamstring curls using a ball, single leg squats, and lunges.

Followed up this exercise with my favorite: mixed cereals! I have recently been getting back into cereal. I used to eat it way too much. When I lived in Harlem, and was only cooking for myself, I would eat it for dinner more often than I want to admit.

3/4 c. Kashi Heart to Heart

1/4 c. Fiber One Cereal

1 tsp. chia seeds

~1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk

I also discovered Attune Foods is giving away the chance to go to Fitbloggin’ to one lucky blogger. I have to work on my brief essay tonight telling my story and why I would like to go. I would absolutely love this opportunity, as would many other bloggers. It is so awesome Attune Foods is giving someone a chance. Be sure to enter! Also on my list of blog things to do: 1) Still need to put up my weight loss post! aah! 2) Stuffed Grape Leaves Tutorial.

What are your favorite leg exercises?

*Disclaimer: This workout is just something I have found works for me from my own research and working with a personal trainer. I am not a trainer and you should always consult your doctor before starting a new fitness routine.

Hello! I think I am starting to feel better this morning. I still took the the morning off because I am not 100%. But Hopefully, I can get a workout in this evening. I have signed up for spinning and as of right now fully plan on going. I rather be outside, but I think it is safer going to the gym in case I need to make a quick exit :/…

I love watermelon. The crunch, the juice, the flavor! Love it all. The smell of fresh cut watermelon is my favorite. Smells like summer and fun. My mom used to cut up an entire watermelon on Saturday mornings, and my brother and I could eat the whole thing. Watermelon and brussel sprouts started a war between us. Weird kids…

Besides the watermelon being delicious! These breakfasts are kind of boring. They taste good, but they are not anything special to read about. With that said, this blog is about how I manage to live healthy with all the limitations of being in the city – limited space, time, and money. So this is what I have been eating. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day though and I do really want to start making some of those yummy breakfasts I see floating around the blog world. Or at least muster up the energy to get back to making fancied up oats and smoothies. The week day morning is just tough. I need to revamp my routine, because it really ends up taking like 3-4 hours. I get up so early but still don’t manage to get to work until almost 10. After working out, lounging around sipping my coffee, reading blogs, checking email, make my lunch, and Bryan’s lunch. Then comes the trouble of what to wear?!

Take this morning for instances. I need to do laundry after my trip. I also need to go to my storage facility and get my spring/summer clothes! That’s a good thing! Finally some nice weather! Anyway, back to this morning – so, I grabbed a pair of jeans that I had the waist taken in on last fall. I haven’t worn them in a couple months. They are too big! And there is money in the pocket! Yay, Jeans I had taken are falling off! Hot damn! And I love finding money in pockets – Only a dollar but hey money is money! It is great that the jeans are too big, but at the same time I need something to wear. I have been having this problem a lot lately. Clothes are fitting me weird. Everything is too big, and Bryan calls me bag-ass. Or the next size down is too small. My shirts are too big and too small at the same time. Maybe I just need to start branching out and shopping at other places.

In summary, Wednesday is looking pretty good. It is sunny and 70’s in NYC today, I am starting to feel better, and I have an excuse to go shopping!

Anyone have any good bargain shopping advice? What are your favorite clothing stores? I usually like Banana Republic, Gap, and J. Crew.

Also what is your morning routine like? What do you find is the longest part?

Are you gleeks? I am watching Glee right now. They have the perfect job. Getting to sing and dance to new songs every week. It just seems like so much fun.

So, I am still sick with this stomach bug. I’m not throwing up anymore today which is good. I do not want to divulge into too much detail, but I had to keep running to my secret bathroom at work today. I ate my usually giant salad, and all the veggies were probably not the best idea considering my stomach is off. I also ended up getting really dehydrated on the way to meet Bryan for dinner. We ordered tons of water first. It was also hard finding a restaurant because my stomach so no salads, no spicy, no sushi…you get the idea.

We ended up at hummus kitchen. Carbs seem the safest right now. All I could eat yesterday was toast and soup. We ordered the Mezze Trio and got falafel, babaganoush, and rice. I also ate bunch of matzo bread. They did not have pita for passover, but the cracker like matzo was perfect for me.

Mezze Trio at Hummus Kitchen

The falafel was served with green tahini. I have to figure out what they use to make it green. Bryan definitely ate a majority of the food, but not because it wasn’t good. Everything was good, and they have a bunch of stuff on the menu that looks really good. A quinoa salad and hummus with fava beans. I will definitely be back when I can stomach the mass amounts of food I usually eat!

This bug has also disrupted my workout routine. LAME. Hopefully I will be back to normal tomorrow. I’m going to start with something nice and easy like the elliptical in my building. But until then my food and workouts will be boring.

I’m going to finish enjoying Glee and sip on my new favorite tea, Green Ginger. The ginger should also help my settle my stomach, hopefully….

It is a beautiful morning in NYC! It is suppose to be almost 80 degrees today. A nice welcome back. I got back to NYC last night. I am spending my morning back catching up on some bills/emails/and computer work at, Think Coffee, my favorite coffee place in city!

Mountain of Oatmeal and Strong Coffee

I had a hell of a day yesterday. I woke up with the worst stomach bug I have had in a while. I blame all the jelly beans. After 5 hours of being sick, I had to pack and get ready for my flight! I was praying I would not throw up the entire time. I also got to the airport and to security with only 10 min to spare until my boarding time. The TSA people decided they needed to unpack my entire suitcase! Aaaahhh! I normally breeze through security, but they were being extra harsh – throwing again things I always fly with. Having only 2 pieces of toast the whole day, I was shaking and flustered trying to pack everything back up and get to the gate. My mom is a super packer and was able to fit in all my easter loot, plus all the stuff we got at Target and Wegman’s for me to take back to NYC. Now, I had to figure out how she put it all in there. But in the end, I made it, got to sit next to my cousin on the plane, and did not get sick. PHEW!

So Monday was crazy, but Easter weekend was wonderful!! On the agenda was learning to make a Middle Eastern Feast, including stuffed grape leaves and squash, visiting my two best friends, and my mom’s birthday is Easter Sunday this year. My Mom’s boyfriend is Arabic, and she just spent a week with his family, where they taught her how to cook. I was extremely jealous, plus they live in Southern California. In the interest of time, and keeping this from being the longest post ever ,I will post the Middle Eastern Feast tutorial in a separately this evening. Hope that is okay with you guys!

As my mom and I were exchanging baskets/gifts Sunday morning this little guy hopped past the window.

Easter Bunny!

I ran around trying to find my camera and yelling “Look a bunny and it’s Easter!” for like 5 minutes. I’m surprised he stayed put for that long.

I made my mom a necklace at Brooklyn Charm for her birthday. I forgot to get a picture! But it was super cute. I might go make another one for myself. She still makes me an Easter basket, and she also gave my birthday gifts. My birthday is not until May 12th, but I won’t be home for it.

Stationary and cute sunflower things to decorate my desk at work, some peeps (of course!), an eye mask, and there is a bag of flax meal hiding in the back

Beautiful earrings from the Venetian in Las Vegas

Globe Candle from San Diego Company

Candle when lit

We spent the rest of the morning in our PJ’s watching movies and eating jelly beans.

I always cook holiday meals and the menu for this year was Asparagus Barley Risotto, Arugula and Strawberry Salad, and Key Lime Pie, my mom’s favorite for her birthday. It is more Spring themed, than Easter, and it is all vegan. Since last summer my brother is vegan so the whole meal is vegan. My first entire vegan holiday meal was Christmas, and everything came out so well, I had expectations to live up to this year. Eeeep!

My Mom and Ernie at Dinner

Risotto and Salad

Vegan Key Lime Pie w/ Soy Whipped Cream

We finished off the night with hours of Mexican Train dominoes.

This game takes forever!

It was good to be home in Syracuse. It was a relaxing and really fun weekend. I cried when I had to leave. Bawled really, while standing at the airport. I’m tearing up a bit now. It is really hard leaving home. I think last year, I only went home twice. So every time I leave I do not know when I will see everyone again. I miss my friends and family. I miss my dogs. Life is just always a little easier when I’m there. It is just so difficult to find the time and the money to make the trip. But I also cry when I leave the city too. I guess I’m just always crying. But Every single time, I come back to the city and see that amazing skyline, it always makes me smile and think “welcome home.” I have a life in the city and a routine. So I do love it here. I am just torn between two homes. Sigh…

It’s been so long! Been busy, busy, busy packing in traveling, family time, friends time, and getting to all my favorite Syracuse locations. Today’s post is a Friday Flash back – I’m flashing back to Friday and sharing my first evening during my Syracuse vacation. I left NYC on Friday at noon. I am a huuuge packing procrastinator and in the morning had to pack in spinning, laundry, packing, and breakfast with Bryan before I left. I did it all, and got to the Megabus stop with 15 minutes to spare. Phew! I hate taking the bus, but after that hectic morning I was okay with just sitting for a while. I had tons of magazines and RadioLab podcasts to keep me busy for 4.5 hours. Anything longer that though, and I would go crazy!

Syracuse University Dome

Welcome to Syracuse, NY. It is cold and cloudy, and still looks like winter at the end of April. Sigh….But it is still good to be back for a few days.

When I got in, I was hungry! My brother and I headed to his favorite vegetarian/vegan cafe, Strong Hearts. Friday night is pizza night there! We order The Gentleman Jim – caramelized onions, sauteed shallots, artichoke hearts, and roasted red peppers. All pizzas come with vegan crust, unsure what it is made with, and daiya cheese. I am not a fan of the vegan cheese, but the veggies were so good it was worth it.

Strong Heart's Pizza in Syracuse, NY

Then we headed to mine and Bryan’s favorite spot in Syracuse. Although Bryan was not with me this weekend, I still had to hit up Roji Tea Lounge! During our freshman year in college, I think Bryan and I went there at least twice a week. The menu has loose leaf tea’s from all around the world brewed at their ideal conditions. And they have tons a desserts and Japanese treats. Our favorite is the green tea cake with the aduzki beans. We have never had green tea cake anywhere else that compares to Roji. In addition to their normal menu items they also have a special tea cookie each day. The whole way there I was repeating “please have my lavender cookies, please!”

Special Board at Roji

Hot Damn! Lavender cookies! What luck. So I got an order of those along with the Cherry Blossom green tea, which is only available for a couple weeks in Spring – just like the flowers. I was so excited. NYC has tea lounges, but I have not been able to find any place that compares to the quality of Roji or has some of the menu items they have. Love….

Tea and Cookies

One of the many sofa's at Roji

My brother, Matt, and his Coconut Envy Tea

I was exhausted and head to bed pretty early when we got home. But not before visiting with my puppies and my mom!

Max!

Meet Max! He is the most lovable, sweetest black Pomeranian. I will have to try and get my mom in a picture this weekend.

I am just settling down this evening, finally! Its just after 9 pm. I’ve got my chamomile and mint tea, my mom’s style. And The Wedding Date, with Deborah Messing, is on abc Family. I am a sucker for a cute romantic comedy. And this:

Dermot Mulroney...Yummm

Speaking of Yum. Dinner tonight was yummy. It was another quickie. It was my first time making my own calzones. I feel silly for never thinking of it. We enjoy making homemade pizza, but calzones never crossed my mind. I got the idea from Une-Vie-Saine. I usually do not cook Italian type dishes because they are usually associated with lots of carbs and heavy meals. But my family is Italian, so growing up on it makes it hard to resist. This meal was perfect because I can control the proportions by doing it homemade, and I loaded it up with veggies. Also, ever since I finally got a mini food processor a few weeks ago, I have been dying to make a pesto. I really liked the idea of doing a pesto instead of traditional tomato sauce. So my Green Goddess Calzone was born.

While some TJ’s whole wheat was rising – a little less than half of package I made the pesto.

Spinach-Basil Oil-less Pesto

In a food processor combine:

handful of spinach

handful of basil

lemon juice

garlic

salt

pepper

splash of balsamic vinegar

light sprinkle of grated Parmesan

just a few walnut pieces

I did not measure anything out just threw it all in and blend, blend, blend.

Bryan and I each took our hunks of dough and spread them out thin. Spread on some pesto.

green goodness

Green Goddess Calzone Stuffing:

blanched zucchini (no sauteing with oil)

microwaved broccoli

1/2 a slice mozzarella cheese

I forgot to get a picture because we were so hungry. Folded it up right quick and pinched the edges closed. They were baked on 425 for 10 minutes. The crust had the perfect amount of doughiness. ❤

Calzone with a side of broccoli and califlower

Bryans Gooey Inside

So no matter what I make or where we eat, everything with Bryan is always “good.” I always tell him I could feed him dog poop and he would tell me it was good. So tonight I have decided to implement a new system so I can gauge what is actually good. I appealed to the doctor part of him – we are working on a scale of 1-10 now. It worked because as soon as I said it he gave me a score with reasons why. He gave it a 6.5, which I was surprised about because he said he liked it more than his favorite pizza that we make. He said he is going to make his scale more moderate to leave move for improvements(pssssh) and things that are really good. I gave it a 7. Bryan’s reason for the 6.5 was a little too much lemon in the pesto. So watch the lemon when making your pesto.

Prior to dinner, I took the Wednesday night spin class at my usual NYSC location. I haven’t taken this particular class in a while. I like the instructor, she plans a good routine full of intervals, but I just could not get motivated enough to push myself further and harder. I don’t know if it was me or if it is because I do not really like her music choices. Too slow, too old school. I don’t know what it was. I’m still glad I went, it was still a decent enough sweat and it is better than not going.

What do you think about spinning playlists? Do you think they have a big effect on the workout?

I also did this upper body routine before class

Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps

Do all exercises in order, and rest 1 min in between.

Stability Ball Bench Press w/ Dumbbells 3 x 12

Stability Ball Chest Flye 3 x 12

Standing Dumbbell Overhead Press 3 x 12

Stability Ball Bent Over Flye 3 x 12

One Arm Cable Lateral Raise 3 x 8 ea side

Balancing One Arm Overhead Extension 3 x 12 ea side

Cable Tricep Pulldown

I’m going to go dig up some dessert. I have some watermelon slices in the back of the fridge I have been hiding from Bryan.

I have never been brave enough to mix prints, but I love it! Taking this picture to post, is another step closer to overcoming my fear of mirrors and photos. This is my roommates mirror….oops, hi Stephen! Notice his panda bear trash can in the bottom right corner.

I’m still feeling sick this morning, and I woke up with a craving for eggs. I usually crave cereal or oatmeal, but I guess my slightly sick body wants some protein. So I scrambled 2 egg whites with some black pepper, and had a banana spread with fresh ground peanut butter on the side. Could have sworn I definitely took a photo, but I can’t seem to find it.

I have spinning scheduled for this evening after work, but I am dragging today. I am thinking I might treat myself to a chocolate sugar free Chai to give me a little boost in the afternoon and energy to go to the gym. We have an Argo Tea conveniently located in the medical center. Woohoo! And, I think I have a free drink on my loyalty card.

Do you ever need a little pick me up in the afternoon, or to motivate a workout?

With the changing of seasons comes colds. I have the worst sore throat! I woke up with it yesterday. I haven’t had a sore throat in years. I am not a fan. I cannot spend more then 5 minutes without a throat lozenge or tea. I have gone through almost a whole bag of sugar free honey-lemon drops. It even hurts to drink water. Luckily, there do not appear to be anything other symptoms like fever, headache, cough. Any recommendations for how to cure/alleviate a sore throat? I feel like it is making food taste different too. Can that happen? Eeek.

On top of being sick, Bryan and I keep having problems with dividing up responsibilities. To keep a long story short, I basically do everything – cook, clean, shop, laundry, plan menus, do the dishes, the list could go on. I’m beginning to feel like a mother or maid. It is hard because I like to cook, and I know he is busy as a medical student. But that does not mean it is impossible to help. And it would be nice for someone to cook for me once. So we keep bumping heads about this. I just get mad and upset. I do not have a lot of time either. Then it stresses him out that I’m mad, and he cannot focus on studying. Ughhh. The situation is frustrating.

I did make dinner for us tonight. Something quick so he could get back to studying. I am calling them Caribbean Rice Bowls.

Ingredient

Brown Rice (not pictured)

TJ’s Refried Black Beans with Jalapeno

Frozen fire roasted corn

frozen bell peppers

avocado

Ataulfo Mango

Caribbean Rice Bowls

That large brown blob does not look very appealing, but trust me it is. Not involved but a lot of good flavors. For something so low maintenance, I was happy.

I have never had an ataulfo mango – they are smaller and yellow and almost shaped. I have been seeing them all over the fruit stands. I was leery, but that was all that was available. I think the pit part is smaller in proportion to the regular mangoes. So, I think there is more mango “meat” available to eat. It also tastes pretty much the same. Now I know.

Today is one of my lab mates birthdays. She is from the Netherlands, and we celebrated her first birthday is the States, but the Dutch way. Back home, the birthday girl, or boy, bakes a treat to share – sort of elementary school style here. So she insisted on baking her favorite Dutch apple pie. I was not going to argue against it too much. It was fabulous. We had a small celebration around 11 am and enjoyed it then.

Best Apple Pie - ever!

Could not ask for a better second breakfast. Actually, this one more like my first breakfast. I was sooo late and only had time to grab a banana after my morning run. Pie = breakfast of champions. Heck – You only live once. I indulged in a skinny slice and passed on the ice cream. I looove my ice cream, but it was too early even for that. She used this nifty pan where the sides come off, and the metal bottom is still there holding cake/pie. No more trying to peel the pie without breaking it. I need to find out where to get this at.

Now it is time for my Tuesday Lunchtime Links. Here is what I found interesting today.

Speaking of apple pie….

“Apple a day” Advice Rooted in Science – a article about research backing up WHY something is healthy. Perfect! This is exactly what I love. You hear something is healthy, but WHY is the interesting part. An average 23% decrease was found in bad cholesterol levels, LDL, in women who were given apples everyday after 6 months. They also found an avg. 3.3 lbs weightloss in these women compared to the control group. This is possibly to due to pectin in apples curbing hunger and less calories being ingested. This awesome because I really do eat an apple pretty much daily. Sometimes 2. Granny smith and honeycrisp are my favorite!

Coffee and health: What does the research say? – There is a lot of stuff going blogs about caffeine. Specifically, reducing intake. This is something even I am trying to do. I do not think coffee is bad. I love my morning coffee, and I do not plan on giving it up. I was just drinking too much all day long. I want to enjoy my morning coffee and not get headaches in the afternoon if I do not have another cup. That is my motive for trying to cut back. This article on the mayo clinic has a physician discussing the advantages and disadvantages to coffee. Just like everything – it is fine in moderation.

What you need to know about Posture: Spine 101 – This is the first post in a series on posture on the blog, fitwoman.com. I have always had horrible posture, and I suffer from back pain. I am hoping yoga will help with this. This post goes over some of the anatomy of the spine and the effects of poor posture. I realized while reading it I was all hunched over the computer like a gremlin – not good for the spine.

A little science, A little dessert, and now back to work.

While we are on the topic of the spine – Have you ever tried a chiropractor? People say I should give it a shot, but it makes me nervous. If have been – what have your experience been like? Postive? Negative? No difference?

It is a bad sign for the week when you start out Monday exhausted and behind. My other lab members were dragging to. It probably has to do with the long neuroscience retreat, which resulted in a short weekend for yourself. As a result, it is Tuesday morning and I am posting for Monday. Gotta get caught up!

I was able to get out of bed at 630 for a good workout.

Strength Training + Elliptical

Lifting Warmup:

Jumping Jacks 1 min

Push Ups – 15

Mountain Climbers 1 min

Back, Biceps, and Abs: 3 sets of each exercise, then move onto next

Dumbbell Deadlifts 12 reps – not stiff legged, make sure to squat down and keep back flat in order to target lower back

Supermans 8 reps

Bent Over Dumbbell Row 12 reps

Single Arm Row using Bench – 12 reps ea side

Hammer Curl – 10 reps

Dumbbell Preacher Curl – 8 reps

One Set each of Ab exercises:

Incline Sit up – I hate these. 12 reps

Floor crunches – 25 reps

Russian Twist – 25 reps

Weighted V-Ups on bench – 25 reps

Finished with 22 minutes on Elliptical – Random Interval

I was really excited about dinner tonight. It is sort of a test run for my Easter meal this weekend. My brother is vegan as of last year, so I have to plan out my holiday meals differently. The main dish is going to be a Mushroom and Leek Barley Risotto. However, for yesterday’s meal I used wheat berries instead of barley, because I had some one hand from the Green Market.

On my lunch break I cooked the wheat berries Kath style. I let them cook for 35 minutes on the stove. I removed from heat and left them in the water until the evening.

Add broth to pan and heat on low. Heat olive oil in large skillet on the stove.

Clean and chop leeks. Add garlic puree. Saute with oil for 5 minutes.

Add mushrooms and cook for another 5-10 minutes.

Add wheatberries and balsamic vinegar and a portion of the broth. Do not add all the broth at once. Add it gradually as it cooks down. You can also add the spices now. I do not have measurements as I just add them to taste. Rosemary would be good too, but I did not have it.

Cover skillet (leave crack for air to escape), cook down, continue adding broth, and stirring often so it doesn’t burn. Cook until desire consistency and all broth is absorbed. I cooked mine for about 35-40 minutes. The wheatberries still had a decent bite, but I like a lot of chew so it was good for me! 🙂

Serve warm and enjoy!

Finished Product

Wheatberry Risotto

It was a carnivore approved meal by Bryan. He was on the fence about the chewiness of the wheat berry as he does not usually like that texture. But it wasn’t as bad as he though it would be and said the flavor made up for the texture. He must have enjoyed seeing as he had about 2 1/2-3 servings. Yay! I used to be afraid of making risotto. It takes a long time to cook, but with minimal effort. Although, I find waiting that long to be an effort in itself. Also, if you are using grains like barley and wheat berries it is not as scary, because it is not as easy to burn and ruin.

Welcome!

Hi! I am Ashley. A life long food enthusiast, but with a newly developed healthy attitude. This blog is a place for discussion about healthy living, as well as a resource for the science behind healthy choices. Freckles & Spice is my commitment to stay on the path towards healthy and active lifestyle and to rediscover myself, all while balancing the fast paced, hectic life of a professional twenty-something living in the city. Thanks for stopping by!

First time here? Check out this post for a little introduction to what you will find here.